Leaking ceilings, hardwood floors and a new look

We are in the process of remodeling our house. Yeah, I know. RIGHT THE MIDDLE OF WEDDING SEASON?? We sort of don't have a choice-the bathroom has a leak some where, so we probably have to tear it all apart.

One thing I would like to do is put hardwood flooring in there. I know there are many different hardwood flooring prices depending what type of hardwood we want. I would like for it to match the other hardwood in our living room.

I really would like to redecorate our living room as well, since we lost the studio we had and now I'm meeting clients in my home. I would like our home to look classy and show my taste which reflects my style in photography.

I think that part will be fun, but I'm not looking forward to the bad news about our bathroom, though it would be nice to have a new one-I'm SOOOO embarrassed by ours. I cringe when people ask to use it.

So, wish me luck and I'll post photos soon!

Like a first date

I haven't been out on a girl's night for as long as I can remember. After I got married and had another baby, the years just flew by. The promises of getting together with old pals became more and more empty. The new business (photography) took up more and more of my free time, and when I did have it, I felt obligated to spend it with the hubby and kids.

My old friends moved on without me. I was ok with it most of the time, but I did miss good old girl talk and being crazy together, letting off steam that only a night out with the girls could.

Sure, I have online friends, but it's just not the same hanging together online and it looks funny clicking a Bud Light with the computer monitor. So, I decided to drop everything and plan a girl's night out and not feel guilty about it.

I invited a lady that I've befriended at my daughter's school and we are planning on painting the town with my oldest daughter and her friends. I'm actually very nervous. It's been so long that I've forgotten how to be just a girl. To hang out with other females and have fun.

I've tried on ten outfits, bought new make up and made sure I have a purse full of breath mints. Will I know how to act? Do I let them know that I'm a light weight, and two Pina Calida's later, I'm dancing on the table?

Yep. It feels like a first date. I'm hoping to get lucky.

Wait-you didn't think I meant THAT did you?

I hope I can remember how to have fun again. Not as a mom. Not as a wife. Just as a girl hanging out with other girls on a girl's night out.

Someone up there mad at me?

After the week I had last week, I'm afraid to get out of bed today.

My week started with having a bride email me out of the blue and say they were cancelling their contract for their September wedding. No explanation whatsoever. Hmm. Ok.

Then, I find out that one of my credit cards was being cancelled. One that I've had forever and wasn't behind on or even had a balance on. What the...?

After that, I find out that my oldest was contacted by her potential boss only to find out that she wasn't getting the job she was promised after all, because the person that was going to leave decided not to quit. Oh my!

And after that, I have more problems dealing with weddings, like a bride scheduling her hair appointment so late that we will only have an hour to do 3 hours worth of photos. Or, another couple are still putting their details together when their wedding is right around the corner. Grrrr...

Oh, did I mention that my printer broke down right before a client was coming to sign a contract? !$#@&

If THAT wasn't enough, on our way to shoot a wedding this Saturday, a deer jumped out in front of us and smashed the left side of my car....

So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back under the covers until next Tuesday...

Do you have a shoulder?

As May approached, I knew that I would be super busy. I have the more weddings this year then I ever had. I knew this meant weekends booked with weddings or engagements, and weeks filled with editing and writing. Its only half way through May and I'm already wanting to pull my hair out...

The thing is, I'm feeling that mom guilt. I can handle staying up late and being busy, but I can't handle how it effects the kids. I don't like having to say, "Dad will have to take you" or, "Can we play tomorrow?"

Arggggh!

I applaud those moms that figured out how to balance it all. Sometimes I do, sometimes, I don't. Does that make me awful?

I do plan on taking a vacation at the end of June after the bulk of my first batch of weddings will be done. Will it make up for all the lost time? Maybe not, but I do have a goal for all this hard work and missed time from my children. This goal will eventually allow me to spend more time with them when I . When I get sad, that's what I think about and it keeps me going.

So, kudos to all you hard working moms-please don't feel guilty for providing for your family. I know how you feel and I'm there for you!

The best Mother's Day ever

This has been a great weekend.

Now, before I go into detail, if you are not a long time reader, then you do not know about my kids. I love the little boogers , but I have to say, they are very selfish children. Is it my fault? I don't want to take the blame, but I might have spoiled them just a bit too much over the years.

So, it started when my son (age 16) said he wanted to make me a dessert for Mother's Day. He went to the store and bought the ingredients (spent his own money!) and started working on it Friday night. He spent two hours mixing and baking. He even cleaned up his mess.

Now, if you knew my son, you would have fallen over. He does not part with his money. He does not clean. Heck, he doesn't even acknowledge our existence unless he's hungry, or needs his clothes washed. Yes. He's a teenager.

I was so happy that he did that for me-I'm still smiling.

Next, my youngest stepped up. Ok, to let you know a little bit about her personality, I'll tell you this...

IT'S ALL ABOUT EMILY.

It doesn't matter whose birthday it is, she expects to get something too. Every weekend should be a shopping weekend for her. She finds it very hard to give the attention to someone other than her.

I blame her dad.

Anyway, she went out with her dad to go Mother's Day shopping. I was very anxious to find out how big of a fit she threw to have to get me something instead of herself. When they got home, the hubby said everything went well-she didn't throw a fit at all.

"Hmm," I said to myself. "This should be interesting..."

So, when I opened my gifts this morning, I was shocked. She got me a movie I had wanted, a tart for my scent warmer, and a Square Card Reader for my iPhone. I had to ask if she got any help. Hubby said nope, she had remembered me saying I wanted those things.

SHE ACTUALLY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT SOMEONE ELSE WANTED.

I think a tear actually formed in the corner of my eye.

There might be hope for my kids after all.

The hubby did take me aside later and told me that he did have to buy her a Monster High outfit that day.

Okay. It's a baby step.

Is Photography Your Passion?

Being a photographer, I love to find helpful books or products photography related. A great source for learning how to take great photos is DPS. They are always adding new ebooks on lighting, camera equipment, etc.

When I found out that they published another awesome ebook, I was quick to find out about it!

Natural Light- Mastering a Photographer's Greatest Tool

As the title says - this eBook is all about learning to observe and harness natural light to take beautiful images. I was just thinking about natural light the other day and how photographers should use it more. Images just look more beautiful and natural.

I understand that sometimes it's impossible to use natural light, but when you can, wouldn't it be great to know just HOW to take advantage of it?


What's in the book:

-Learn to understand the essential qualities of natural light
-Master the technical components you’ll need to work with natural light, including exposure, metering, and the histogram
-Learn expert methods to control natural light to suit your creative needs
-Grasp the potential of harsh light, diffused light, fog, twilight, and other settings
-Learn to sculpt light, create light interplay, reveal silhouettes, and more
-Practice professional post-processing techniques to enhance natural light
-Harness the countless creative possibilities that natural light affords

Lots of detailed photos and great advice for photographers wanting to bring natural lighting into their world.



Because it’s packed with real-world advice, Mitchell has built a successful photography career by learning to harness natural light in any situation. His hard-won advice will save you years of trial and error, and help you get more from your photography, starting today.

Natural Light- Mastering a Photographer's Greatest Tool covers all aspects of photography using natural light. It gives you the skills you need to conduct your own experiments with natural light—to breathtaking effect. Mitchell’s hands-on advice leads you from the essentials to more advanced aspects of natural-light photography. His field guide to natural light is supported by detailed case studies, tips and tricks, and clear illustrations to help you build up your skills super-fast.

Here is the great part...

You don’t need an expensive camera, high-end equipment, or stunning subjects to get real value from this ebook. Mitchell targets his advice to the photographer who wants to use natural light to maximum effect in every image they make

Wait. There's more!

It's 25% off - normally $19.99 we're launching this for 14.99!!
(for a limited time - 2 weeks)
If you were wanting to learn how to use natural light, now is a great time to purchase this!

Click here to view more details

The Hubby's Secret

I'll be the first to admit, I'm addicted to reality tv. Mainly, Bravo channel. I can get into pretty much every show on there. I'm also a made for tv romantic comedies junkie.

The hubby tries to be one of those if-it-hasn't-won-three-awards movies, or not on the History channel, he's not watching it type of macho guy. He constantly complains that reality shows are a waste of time and fake (he hates Bethenny Frankel-my idol).

So, when it comes to who gets to pick what we watch together, it's not pretty. I pretty much win most times, since I keep the Netflix movies full on our list. Then, when one of my movies arrive in the mail, he looks at the title and rolls his eyes.

The thing is though, what he doesn't want to admit is that he actually ends up liking the movie or show I pick. Sometimes, he even gets into it more than me. I give him one of those I-told-you-so looks followed by a smile and he acts like I don't know what I'm talking about.

The real kicker was yesterday, when I walked in the door after shopping and caught him watching Million Dollar Listing. He started talking excitedly about how that one guy yelled at the other guy and he might fire him.

I laughed and said, "Hmm, isn't that one of those terrible reality shows I watch?"

"Well, yeah," he mumbled and continued, "But, we turned it the other day right before he was going to fire him and I just wanted to see..."

"Honey," I interrupted.

"Yeah?" he answered reluctantly.

"Don't ever knock my shows again."

Who ate the cake?

Hubby: Oh, you know what sounds good?

Me: What??

Hubby: A big glass of milk and a piece of that chocolate cake.

Me: Um....

Hubby: What?

Me: There might be a problem with that.

Hubby: And??

Me: It's gone.

Hubby: What?! There was two pieces left yesterday!

Me: Yeah, yesterday. I asked if you wanted a piece and you said no.

Hubby: Yeah, that means there should be at least a piece left, right? Did you eat BOTH?

Me: Noooo. I had a piece yesterday and one today.

Hubby: Right. You ate both.

Me: No. It was a whole new day, so it doesn't count.

Hubby: (just rolling eyes).

Halloween is right around the corner

Thanks to Emily, I probably know more about Monster High than I should. I can name all the characters and I'm finding myself looking forward to the movies that are coming out.

One thing I know about Emily is that her favorite character is Draculaura, so I knew she would be excited when she saw what came in the mail.

A Draculaura costume!

Monster High costumes are going to be all the craze this Halloween.

This costume is so adorable! It came with everything except the wig. She loved it! I haven't been able to get it off of her. I worry that it's not going to stay nice for Halloween.

I'm thinking that I'm going to have to sneak it away from her.

Have you thought about what you are going to be this year yet? It will be here before you know it.

What if you won a gift certificate towards a costume?

Well, you could!

Just tweet the following:

Kids costumes @CostumeSC by visiting http://ow.ly/ajIBV
and enter to win a $100, $50, or $25 gift certificate!!

Never the cook

I love to watch cooking shows and I pour over foodie blogs, dreaming of being able to cook and bake like them. To put together wonderful dinners like Sandra Lee of Semi -Home Cooking. Other than my family benefiting from being able to serve something other than Mac n Chs, I would love to be able to photograph my creations.

Ahh, the dream...

The problem is, it has stayed just that- a dream.

It's not like I didn't try. I've tried different dishes, from homemade pizza, to even meatloaf. Did my entries look like the beautiful photos in the countless cookbooks I've purchased? Heck no. Did they at least taste good? Turned up noses say no.

I even tried baking, thinking maybe I could at least provide a tasty dessert to the family after a disappointing dinner...

Several lopsided cakes and dry brownies later, I've given up.

So what if I can't cook or bake? I look at it as job security for restaurant owners and bakery shops. God gave them that talent to keep people like us fed.

At least that's what I tell my husband.

(So far, it's working).